Seven Days, Zero Dollars, Good Eats

Whether you’re broke, a student, or just plain stingy, here’s how to mooch your way through the week in the East Village, a neighborhood known for its cheap (but good) eats.

Monday

Despite its dubious-looking pizza, basement-like space and dusty appearance, The Crocodile Lounge is one of the East Village’s most highly-trafficked joints, thanks in part to its liberal pie policy. Get a free six-slice pizza with the purchase of any drink, any day of the week. Play trivia on Wednesdays.

325 East 14th Street (between First and Second Avenues)
212-477-7747

Sophie HoellerYoga To The People, 12 St. Marks Place.

Tuesday

Breathe a little easier with a free (or at least low-cost) yoga class at Yoga to the People, where you can select from eight daily classes. Though you’ll be drenched in sweat, squeezed in among dozens of other dripping scavengers, lessons are professional and conducted in a beautiful, exposed brick loft. Classes are donation-based, and mats are $2 to rent if you don’t have your own, but if you are light on cash, you can still partake. Of course, when the going gets good again, it would be good karma to throw in a few extra bucks.

Starting at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, Burp Castle, the monastery-themed bar and self-proclaimed “temple of beerworship” offers free French fries and dipping sauces from Belgian restaurant Pommes Frites (which is around the corner on Second Avenue.) Don’t get too excited though, as the bar occasionally enforces its “whisper only policy.”

Wind down the work or school week without putting a dent in your wallet at self-proclaimed dive bar The Continental. Those looking for a quick fix can get five shots of their choice for just $10 all day and all night any day of the week. If shots aren’t your thing, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. drinks are just $2 to $4. After 8 p.m., drinks range from $2 to $6.

Got a hot date but no cash? No worries. Starting at 5 p.m. each night you can pig out on free garlic mussels at Cucina di Pesce, a cozy, romantic neighborhood Italian restaurant where most meals can be had for $10.

Sushi Lounge has a clever way of scoring customers, offering 50 percent off all sushi all the time. All you have to do is order at least $8 worth of sushi – after – the 50 percent discount. Get 50 percent off all draft beer and Japanese cocktails during “Happy Hour,” which is 10 p.m. to close, here. A pitcher of Kirin will only cost $7.

How Does Your School Stack Up?

Hello, Neighbors

The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »